Suspect arrested in robbery of bicyclist overtaken by car

New Orleans — New Orleans police have arrested a local woman they say robbed a bicyclist after an accomplice first hit the man with his car.

Shantell Johnson, 29, was booked with armed robbery Thursday and remains at the Orleans Parish Central Lockup in lieu of $250,000 bond.

Johnson is accused of riding in a vehicle that struck a bicyclist near the intersection of General Taylor and Chestnut Street on Nov. 9. According to court records, the incident happened about 3:30 p.m.

Police said Johnson was riding with an unidentified driver who knocked the bicyclist over with a small compact car. The duo then got out of their car, and Johnson pulled a gun on the man, the records say.

Court records say the driver of the car then rifled through the man’s pockets, and Johnson later took a turn as well. After they stole the victim’s belongings, police say the two robbers hopped back into their vehicle and drove off. Police were able to develop Johnson as a suspect through their investigation. A witness and the victim also picked her out of a photo lineup.

The robbery was first reported by the Uptown Messenger website.The website also reported on a similar incident involving two women in the 1900 block of Dumaine Street on Nov. 15. In that incident, a man said he was riding his bicycle about 9:45 p.m. when a car hit him from behind.

The victim said a young woman got out of the car and held a gun to his head while another person patted him down. In that incident, both of the robbers were women.

Police previously said they believed the gunman in both robberies was the same person. However, Johnson was only booked with one count of armed robbery Friday. No other arrests could be confirmed with police Friday evening. A probable cause hearing on the armed robbery arrest has been set for Jan. 30.

Johnson previously was arrested in October for illegal possession of stolen things and a probable cause hearing on that charge was set for Dec. 26.